Compared: EX1000, CK100, and FX700 - Page 2

Great review mastershake2393. I was going to buy the ck100 last week but was too busy so thought i will leave it till later. But then i heard that Audio Technica is going to release the ck100 pro and other IEM/headphones for their 50th anniversary (ck100 pro is due to release on November 18th). So i guess i will wait a bit longer to see which one is better before i make a purchase.

I don't hear any grain in the EX1000's treble personally. Unless I misunderstand what you mean by "grain", and I don't think that I do.

It's hardly perceptible to me. I can only hear it if I'm trying to hear it, and if the track has a lot of mid/upper treble extension (like an electronic or pop song.) Certainly not a lot of grain at all.

-Bass: Popping the CK100 into my ears for the first time, I kind of had an idea prior to my first listen as to how little bass the CK100 have. Well, I can say I must be in the minority because I found the bass quantity far exceeded what I thought they were going to sound like. It actually has slam! This surprised me so much, I thought something was wrong with them haha. Great texturing, speed and depth; the quality is excellent. If I had to nitpick, I could say the bass doesn't have the timbre I'm use to from DD IEM, but that is a tiny nitpick. I can't really think of anything else that could be wrong with the bass.

Interesting, because that's how I felt when I got my CK100. Everyone complained how little bass it had but for me it was the perfect amount. Not too much, not too little. Just the right amount for my ears!

I didn't mind it much myself, until I came to a few tracks where sub-bass was nearly nonexistent. It was most apparent when switching between the CK100 and whatever else I had at the time, because the sub-bass was certainly present on the recording, but barely noteworthy through the CK100's, even when listening to some of my most bass heavy test tracks, which I've heard countless times by now. In any case, the CK100 is still one of the best universals around for vocals. Practically puts you and the singer nose to nose. I've yet to hear an in-ear emulate the CK100's midrange.

Great work so far @mastershake, I second most of what you said about the EX1000. Regarding the treble spike, here's my personal take on it.

The CK100s however were a love/hate affair for me, a prime example of how some BA based phones sound technically extremely proficient and impressive, but at the same time rather unnatural. Their highs were among the very best with incredible sparkle and smoothness, but also added some kind of "metallic" coloring to the timbre of instruments, that I once described as putting 10% of cembalo into piano sounds. Their bass was fast and punchy, but with less than stellar texturing (sorry, I have to disagree with you in that point) that only exacerbated their timbre weakness. Last not least I'm not a big fan of being nose to nose with the singer since it impairs my perception of space, but that's of course a matter of personal preference.

Okay, a little bit of a change-up. Here is the edit from the first page:

EDIT: I will be doing only a review for the UM3X as I no longer have it on my person. However, I will still be able to compare the EX1000 and CK100 before my EX1000 goes bye-bye. And finally, there will be an addition to this thread later this week... ;)

The 'Freaking Titanium' is hardly impressive. Yes, they're expensive metal, yes they shine and are lightweight and strong. I'm sure they've alloyed it with carbon of some sorts to help increase its hardness but as titanium goes, they scratch easy. Same goes for magnesium on the EX1000.

Which is why I don't get the Palladium coating on Edition 8s. Palladiums are soft scratchable metal as well!! Someone needs to make some nice glossy CHROME plated finish!!!

Chrome is almost as unscratchable as sapphire!!

If this review was made 4 weeks ago I'd be buying the CK100's from Ie2han already! :P Or his EX1000...

But I'm stuck with the GR07 for now and they'll remain in use for some time. They solved my 'IEM itch'

The 'Freaking Titanium' is hardly impressive. Yes, they're expensive metal, yes they shine and are lightweight and strong. I'm sure they've alloyed it with carbon of some sorts to help increase its hardness but as titanium goes, they scratch easy. Same goes for magnesium on the EX1000.

Which is why I don't get the Palladium coating on Edition 8s. Palladiums are soft scratchable metal as well!! Someone needs to make some nice glossy CHROME plated finish!!!

Okay, so I was waiting until I could actually record what I wanted before I shared the update with you guys, but I'm too excited to wait haha. What I will be doing with the comparisons is a video review !!! I think it's the best choice, for me, as I think a video comparison is more personal and I can get my point across easier than if I were to write the comparison. Bare with me as this will be my first ever video review...

Oh, and one last little surprise: I'm going to remove the UM3X from the review line-up and replace it with the FX700. I don't have the UM3X in my possession anymore, so I really don't want to base my review from memory; I don't want to cheat anyone out of a good review. Plus many people want to see the FX700 compared directly to the EX1000 anyway

The video will be uploaded maybe tomorrow? It really depends on when I wake up and what all I have to do at my university. I'll update the thread with more information tomorrow as I see fit.

Okay, so I was waiting until I could actually record what I wanted before I shared the update with you guys, but I'm too excited to wait haha. What I will be doing with the comparisons is a video review !!! I think it's the best choice, for me, as I think a video comparison is more personal and I can get my point across easier than if I were to write the comparison. Bare with me as this will be my first ever video review...

Oh, and one last little surprise: I'm going to remove the UM3X from the review line-up and replace it with the FX700. I don't have the UM3X in my possession anymore, so I really don't want to base my review from memory; I don't want to cheat anyone out of a good review. Plus many people want to see the FX700 compared directly to the EX1000 anyway

The video will be uploaded maybe tomorrow? It really depends on when I wake up and what all I have to do at my university. I'll update the thread with more information tomorrow as I see fit.